Refugees in India share daily struggles with UNHCR chief

High Commissioner António Guterres admiring traditional weaving done by women from Myanmar at a refugee centre in New Delhi.

NEW DELHI, India, December 21 (UNHCR) – Urban refugees in the Indian capital told UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres of their daily challenges during a two-day visit in which he discussed concrete steps for strengthening UNHCR's partnership with the government.

Guterres visited a refugee centre in New Delhi on Thursday and met eight exiles from Afghanistan, Myanmar and Somalia. They told him about the financial difficulties they face, and the challenge finding places to stay.

"We live on railway station platforms and in open fields. We have nothing to eat. The world is watching our plight, but no one is doing anything," claimed 44-year-old Fazal, a Rohingya refugee from Myanmar. India has kept its borders open to the Rohingya and allowed them to stay and work.

High Commissioner Guterres spoke warmly about India's generosity towards all refugees. On Wednesday, he met External Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed and Home Affairs Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for talks on boosting refugee protection and strengthening ties between UNHCR and India.

"It is a special time in relations between UNHCR and the government," he said. The government has discussed possible timelines to address issues like the issuance of long-stay visas and work permits to refugees and the naturalization of Hindu and Sikh refugees from Afghanistan.

Although India has not signed the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and does not have a national refugee law, the human rights of refugees and asylum-seekers are protected by the constitution. They have access to health care and their children can go to school.

However, they say that they face challenges as refugees on a day-to-day basis, such as discrimination, finding accommodation and employment. Women, especially in New Delhi, don't feel safe, even in their homes.

Wilo, a single mother with eight children, claimed that Somali women face discrimination all the time. The High Commissioner later said he was distressed to hear about some of the problems the refugees faced. "We must work together with governments to increase [and improve] safety for women [and all other refugees]."

There are about 22,000 refugees and asylum-seekers under UNHCR's mandate in India, and many more Sri Lankans and Tibetans directly assisted by the government of India.

"God has given responsibility to some human beings to take care of other human beings." Fazal from Myanmar told the High Commissioner. "Your institution is one of them. We are grateful that you have come from so far to listen to us. Please help us."

UNHCR country pages

Cold, Uncomfortable and Hungry in Calais

For years, migrants and asylum-seekers have flocked to the northern French port of Calais in hopes of crossing the short stretch of sea to find work and a better life in England. This hope drives many to endure squalid, miserable conditions in makeshift camps, lack of food and freezing temperatures. Some stay for months waiting for an opportunity to stow away on a vehicle making the ferry crossing.

Many of the town's temporary inhabitants are fleeing persecution or conflict in countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq, Sudan and Syria. And although these people are entitled to seek asylum in France, the country's lack of accommodation, administrative hurdles and language barrier, compel many to travel on to England where many already have family waiting.

With the arrival of winter, the crisis in Calais intensifies. To help address the problem, French authorities have opened a day centre as well as housing facilities for women and children. UNHCR is concerned with respect to the situation of male migrants who will remain without shelter solutions. Photographer Julien Pebrel recently went to Calais to document their lives in dire sites such as the Vandamme squat and next to the Tioxide factory.

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East Africans continue to flood into the Arabian Peninsula

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East Africans continue to flood into the Arabian Peninsula

A Family of Somali Artists Continue to Create in Exile

During two decades of conflict and chaos in Somalia, Mohammed Ousman stayed in Mogadishu and taught art as others fled the country. But life became impossible after Al Shabaab militants killed his brother for continuing to practise art. Four of the man's nine children were also murdered. Mohammed closed his own "Picasso Art School" and married his brother's widow, in accordance with Somali custom. But without a job, the 57-year-old struggled to support two families and eventually this cost him his first family. Mohammed decided to leave, flying to Berbera in Somaliland in late 2011 and then crossing to Aw-Barre refugee camp in Ethiopia, where he joined his second wife and her five children. UNHCR transferred Mohammed and his family to Addis Ababa on protection grounds, and in the belief that he could make a living there from his art. But he's discovering that selling paintings and drawings can be tough - he relies on UNHCR support. The following images of the artist and his family were taken by UNHCR's Kisut Gebre Egziabher.

A Family of Somali Artists Continue to Create in Exile

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